[The following is based on a letter dated May 5 that has been sent to
AuthorIn users and recipients of the NCBI newsletter]
Dear GenBank User,
Since assuming responsibility for GenBank in October of 1992, the National
Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has continued its efforts to
improve the database and to facilitate user access. During this period,
CD-ROM and network access has increased by nearly an order of magnitude.
Ongoing initiatives for improving the database include:
- Increasing the breadth of coverage by scanning Medline's 3500
journals and by incorporating new sources of sequences, such as
the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and the Protein Research Foundation
database (PRF);
- Adding Medline information to sequence entries;
- Resolving inconsistencies among source databases, such as conflicts
between GenBank and EMBL;
- Minimizing redundancy;
- Providing new methods for network access to the data.
As part of these ongoing efforts, over the next year NCBI will be
assuming a larger role in the processing of direct author submissions
and updates. Beginning on May 17, 1993, direct submissions should be sent to
NCBI:
U.S. mail (for submissions on diskette, indicate whether Mac or PC):
GenBank Submissions
National Center for Biotechnology Information
Bldg. 38A, Room 8N-803
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
E-mail submission of new sequences: gb-sub at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
E-mail submission of updates: update at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
NCBI and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have arranged to work
together to process direct submissions. Our goal is to continue to
enhance the value of the database through the direct contributions of
authors and, towards this end, we are developing new methods to submit
and update sequence information. We appreciate your input on how we
may improve the database and access to it. We invite you to send your
suggestions to 'info at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov'.
David J. Lipman
Director, NCBI/NLM